Eid al-Fitr, also known as “festival of breaking of the fast”, is an important religious holiday celebrated by Muslims worldwide that marks the end of Ramadan. The holiday celebrates the conclusion of the 29 or 30 days of dawn-to-sunset fasting of Ramadan.
The date for the start of any lunar Hijri month varies based on when the new moon is sighted by local religious authorities, so the day of celebration varies by locality. The holiday is known under various other names in different languages and countries around the world.
Eid al-Fitr has a particular salat (Islamic prayer) that consists of two rakats (units) generally performed in an open field or large hall. It may only be performed in congregation (jamāʿat) and features six additional Takbirs (raising of the hands to the ears while saying “Allāhu ʾAkbar”, meaning “God is the greatest”) in the Hanafi school of Sunni Islam: three at the start of the first rakat and three just before rukūʿ in the second rakat.Other Sunni schools usually have twelve Takbirs, similarly split in groups of seven and five. In Shia Islam, the salat has six Takbirs in the first rakat at the end of qira’a, before rukūʿ, and five in the second. Depending on the juristic opinion of the locality, this salat is either farḍ فرض (obligatory), mustaḥabb (strongly recommended) or mandūb مندوب (preferable). After the salat, Muslims would celebrate the Eid al-Fitr in various ways with food (“Eid cuisine”) being a central theme, which also gives the holiday the nickname Sweet Eid or Sugar Feast.
